Yandex.Maps Gets New Interface, Adds User Generated Content

Yandex (NASDAQ: YNDX), one of the largest European internet companies and the leading search provider in Russia, announces two important changes to its mapping service Yandex.Maps: a new interface and the inclusion of user generated content.

The new interface makes it easier for users to find what they’re looking for, whether a particular building or the name of an organization. The map not only provides the address but also shows how it looks in panoramic photographs, and suggests ways to get there by car or on public transportation. The map and panoramas now fill the entire browser screen.

And while users have long had the ability to edit Yandex’s Public Map, now this functionality has been added to the main Yandex.Maps viewed by millions of users. A simple map-editing tool allows users to update, correct and improve Yandex.Maps, combining their local knowledge with the work of Yandex’s cartographers. Users’ contributions are incorporated into Yandex.Maps once a month, after moderation.

“Yandex’s cartographers are responsible for creating and updating Yandex.Maps, but they can’t keep up with every single change taking place across the country,” said Yandex.Maps project manager Pavel Gushchin. “Nothing stands still: somewhere a building gets knocked down, a school opens, a whole new neighborhood is built. Local residents are the first to find out about such changes, so we’ve given them an easy-to-use tool for editing our map – with their contributions to be seen by our entire audience.”

Yandex.Maps allows users to search for addresses and organizations, view satellite and panoramic images of cities, and plot routes to reach a destination by car or public transportation. It is available on the website maps.yandex.ru and as a mobile application for Android, iOS and Windows Phone. While the English-language version of Yandex.Maps can be accessed at maps.yandex.com, the map editing functionality is currently available only on the Russian version of the service.